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(EC) No 6/2002
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European Council
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Art 308
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L3, 2002-01-05 , pp 1&ndash24
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2001-12-12
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2002-03-06
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2003-04-01
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C29, 1994-01-31 , p 20<br/>C248, 2000-08-29 , p 3
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C110, 1995-05-02 <br/>C75, 2000-03-15 , p 35
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C67, 2001-03-01 , p 318
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is a
European Union Regulation
which introduces a unified system of
Industrial Design Rights , called
Community Design s, throughout the
European Union . The system which includes both
Unregistered and
Registered Design Right s,
operates in addition to national systems of protection in each Member State, which are partially harmonised by the
Directive On The Legal Protection Of Designs (98/71/EC).
A
Design is defined as "the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular,
the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation" (Art. 3).
Designs may be protected if:
- they are ''novel'', that is if no identical design has been made available to the public;
- they have ''individual character'', that is the "informed user" would find it different from other designs which are available to the public.
Where a design forms part of a more complex product, the novelty and individual character of the design are judged on the part
of the design which is visible during normal use.
Designs are not protected insofar as their appearance is wholly determined by their technical function, or by the need to
interconnect with other products to perform a technical function (the "must-fit" exception). However modular systems such as
Lego or
Mechano may be protected
{Link without Title} .
All designs which are eligible are protected as unregistered Community designs for a period of three years from the date on
which the design was first made available to the public in the European Union. "The public" in this case is defined as "the
circles specialised in the sector concerned".
Eligible designs may be registered within one year of their first being made available to the public: it is also possible to
claim "priority" if an application for a registered design right has been made in a country party to the
Paris Convention For The Protection Of Industrial Property (Paris Convention) or the
Agreement On Trade-Related Aspects Of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the six months prior to the application for
registration of the Community design. Applications may be made in national intellectual property offices, in the
Benelux Design Office or directly at the
Office For Harmonization In The Internal Market in
Alicante ,
Spain . The detailed rules for applications and procedures for registration are contained in
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2245/2002 , while the fees are specified in
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2246/2002 .
Applications may be filed in any official language of the European Union.
